Tamper-resistant cap with spout plug

ABSTRACT

The present invention is for a fitment assembly for use with a flexible pouch, the fitment assembly including a fitment having a spout tube, and a cap for sealing the spout tube. The cap for the fitment includes a plug portion. The plug portion extends from the cap, and is received by the spout tube of the fitment, thereby blocking product contained within flexible pouch from entering the spout tube when the cap is attached to the fitment. The cap further has a sealed recess which is designed to hold a tablet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/642,860 filed May 4, 2012, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a flexible pouch for packaging a product and more specifically to a flexible pouch having a fitment especially designed for preventing coagulation of product within a tube spout of the fitment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of disposable portable containers are known in the art for storing a fluid or dry product such as a liquid, granular material, powder, or the like. One example of such a container is a flexible pouch. Consumers prefer the convenience of flexible pouches due to their shape, size, and shelf life. Flexible pouches have been used for some time to distribute beverages such as fruit juice and the like. More recently flexible pouches have been utilized for solid food products.

Flexible pouches can be made from a flexible material, preferably a laminate composed of sheets of plastic or aluminum or the like. The flexible pouch often has an opening means at a top portion for access to the contents of the pouch. The opening typically can be a perforated section designed to be able to tear off the top portion of the pouch or it may be a plastic fitment sealed to the flexible pouch that optionally may allow sealing of the pouch after it has been opened.

Fitments are used for filling and dispensing material from flexible pouches. These fitments typically have a cap and spout. In addition to the spout tube, the fitment typically has a canoe portion which is sealed between the front and back panels of a pouch. Once the canoe is sealed to the pouch, material may be filled into the pouch through the spout tube. After the flexible pouch is filled, a cap may be affixed to the spout tube by threading the cap onto the tube or by a press and snap type attachment. In the case of many products, it is necessary to utilize a tamper-resistant device to indicate whether or not the integrity of the package has been compromised before sale. In the case of food products, it is frequently necessary to pasteurize the products before distribution. In such case, the pouch is filled and then heated to a sufficient temperature to pasteurize the contents of the pouch. After pasteurization the pouch is cooled in an inverted position to ensure that no air is retained within the pouch. However, after cooling it has been found that some products coagulate within the spout tube, and when a user opens the package there may be undesired food products coagulated within the spout.

Given the above limitations of present fitment designs, a special fitment that avoids coagulation of product in the spout tube of the fitment is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is for a fitment assembly for use with a flexible pouch, the fitment assembly including a fitment having a spout tube, and a cap for sealing the spout tube. Additionally, the fitment has a recess. The recess is designed to hold a tablet, for example a tablet that dissolves in water to add flavor to the water. The tablet is sealed within the recess for the fitment with a sealing member. Because the flexible pouch only contains water until the tablet is added by the consumer, coagulation of the product in the spout tube post manufacture but before consumption is not possible. Water alone will not coagulate.

The cap for the fitment of the present invention further includes a plug portion. The plug portion extends from the cap, and is received by the spout tube of the fitment, thereby blocking product contained within flexible pouch from entering the spout tube when the cap is attached to the fitment. Blocking product from residing within the spout tube prevents coagulation within the spout tube because there is no product within the spout tube to coagulate.

The fitment and the cap can be made of plastic, for example by injection molding, as is known to those skilled in the art. The sealing member can made from flexible plastic sheeting, foil, and can be bonded to the cap over the recess using an adhesive or other bonding method such as heat and pressure. The seal member can be made and secured using any other material or method known to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible pouch with a fitment and a cap;

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the flexible pouch, fitment and cap;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a spout tube with a pair of flanges;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top of the cap;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bottom of the cap;

FIG. 6 is an perspective exploded view of the cap, a tablet, and a sealing member;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cap and sealing member; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the steps for a method of manufacturing the flexible pouch with the tablet and sealing member.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the method of manufacturing the flexible pouch with the tablet and sealing member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiment for a fitment assembly 20 for use with a flexible pouch 25 includes a fitment 30 with a spout tube 35 and a cap 40 with a recess 45. The fitment 30 has a canoe portion 50 which is sealed between a front and back panel of the flexible pouch 25. The opening of spout tube 35 extends through the canoe portion 50 and allows access to an interior of the flexible pouch 25, for example to fill the flexible pouch 25 with product, or to access the product once it is contained in the flexible pouch 25. The spout tube 35 of the preferred embodiment is cylindrical in shape.

The fitment 30 of the preferred embodiment includes a fitment threaded portion 55 which encircles the spout tube 35. The fitment threaded portion 55 mates with a cap threaded portion 60 on the cap 40 to secure the cap 40 to the fitment 30.

The cap 40 has an elliptical profile with a longitudinal axis which is designed to extend with the longitudinal axis of the canoe portion 50 of the spout tube 35, or to put it another way, along the width of the pouch 25. The cap 40 has an outer gripping portion 65 having a lower portion which extends normally from a bottom elliptically shaped edge. The gripping portion 65 has an upper rugby ball shaped portion which curves inwardly from the lower portion to a center opening 70. A cylindrical portion 75 is supported by two pairs of arms 80, 85 in the center opening 70. A first pair of arms 80 extends along the longitudinal axis of the cap 40 from the inner surface of the gripping portion 65 to the cylindrical portion 75. A second pair of arms 85 extends at a 90 degree angle to the first pair of arms 80. The cylindrical portion 75 has the cap threaded portion 60 on its interior which extends upwardly from the bottom of the cylindrical portion 75 to the top.

A ring 90 is suspended from the bottom of the cylinder 75 by four thin ribbons of material which extend to the upper surface of the ring 90. A first pair of legs 95 and a second pair legs 100 extend from the bottom surface of the ring 90. The first pair of legs 95 is diametrically opposed from each other and has a circumferential length which is less than a circumferential length of each of the second pair of legs 100. One of the first pair 95 and one of the second pair 100 of legs is positioned in a spaced apart relationship on either side of the longitudinal axis of the cap 40. The distal portion of each leg of the first and second pairs 95, 100 has a beveled portion 105 which slopes inwardly to the center axis of the cap 40 to assist in mounting the cap 40 to the spout 35.

The fitment 30 has a support ring 110 extending circumferentially around the outer surface of the spout tube 35 spaced a distance from the canoe 50. The support ring 110 is used to transport pouches on a fill machine. A pair of flanges 115 extend radially outwardly from the spout tube 35 above the ring 90. Each flange 115 has flange notches 120 dimensioned to receive one of the first pair of legs 95 and one of the second pair of legs 110. The flange notches 120 are disposed so that when the cap 40 is threaded to the spout tube 35 the first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 are splayed outwardly riding over the flanges 115 with the beveled surfaces moving the legs apart. Once the distal portions of the first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 are advanced beyond the bottom surfaces of the flanges 115, the first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 snap inwardly beneath the flanges 115. The cap 40 is then rotated until the first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 align with the properly sized notches 120. The first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 then snap inwardly to capture the cap 40 in a position such that the longitudinal axis of the cap 40 is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the canoe 50 and the cap 40 is in its proper position.

When the cap 40 is removed, the first pair of legs 95 and the second pair of legs 100 are held in the flange notches 120 to resist against rotation of the cap 40 relative to the fitment 30. Applying sufficient torque on the cap 40 stretches and then breaks the ribbons so that the cap 40 can be removed and the ring 90 remains attached to the spout, thereby providing an indication as to whether the cap 40 has been removed from the fitment 30 subsequent to initial manufacture.

The recess 45 is located on, extends from, and is perpendicular to, a top surface 135 of the cap 40. The recess 45 is designed to hold a tablet 125. The tablet 125 is secured within the recess 45 by closing the recess 45 with a sealing member 130. In the preferred embodiment, the recess 45 is a cylinder with a closed bottom. The sealing member 130 overlays the top of the recess 45 and is sealed along the top surface 135 of the cap 40 surrounding the recess 45.

The sealing member 130 of the preferred embodiment is a generally circular shaped foil sheet having a larger diameter than the recess 45, bonded to the top surface 135 of the cap 40 surrounding the recess 45. Bonding is accomplished by applying heat and pressure, for example, with an induction heating device, although other methods, such as adhesives or sonic welding, known to those skilled in the art can be used. It is appreciated that the tablet 125 can be inserted into the recess 45, and the sealing member 130 installed to the cap 40, either before or after the cap 40 is secured to the fitment 30.

In the preferred embodiment, an inner diameter of the recess 140 is less than or equal to an inner diameter of the spout tube 145. Having the inner diameter of the recess 140 less than or equal to the inner diameter of the spout tube 145 enables the tablet 125 to be removed from the recess 45 and added to the product contained in the pouch 25 by depositing the tablet 125 into the spout tube 35. In this manner the product and tablet 125 can be combined without necessitating the removal of the product from the pouch 25, or breaking the tablet 125 into smaller pieces.

To prevent coagulation of material in the spout tube 35, the cap 40 includes a plug portion 150. In the preferred embodiment, the plug portion 150 extends from the cap 40 coaxially to, and is disposed within, the cap threaded portion 60. When the cap 40 is mounted, the plug portion 150 extends into the spout tube 35 to prevent material from the package from entering the spout tube 35, thereby preventing coagulation of material in the spout tube 35. In the preferred embodiment, the spout tube 35 and the plug portion 150 are cylindrical in shape allowing the cap 40 and the plug portion 150 to be rotated relative to the fitment 30 while the plug portion 150 is disposed within the spout tube 35, thus enabling a threaded securement of the cap 40 to the fitment 30. It is appreciated that the spout tube 35 and the plug portion 150 can have alternative geometries, oval or rectangle for example, wherein the cap 40 is mounted to the fitment 30 with a press and snap type mechanism.

A traditional method of forming the flexible pouch 25 involves providing a flexible sheet of laminar material. This sheet of material can be folded to form the front panel and back panel of the flexible pouch 25. After folding, the folded form is sealed along its outer edges, leaving room for insertion of the fitment 30. The fitment 30 is sealed to the pouch 25 after being inserted. As an alternative to folding a single sheet of material to form the flexible pouch 25, multiple sheets may be used. Fitment and edge sealing can be accomplished with adhesives. heat, pressure, ultrasonic welding, etc. The above method is known to those skilled in the art.

The cap 40 of the preferred embodiment is made of plastic. It is formed by methods know to those skilled in the art, such as injection molding.

As shown in FIG. 9, a method of assembling the flexible pouch 25 with the fitment assembly is as follows:

The fitment 30, the cap 40 with recess 45, the tablet 125, and the sealing member 130 are provided.

The tablet 125 is inserted into the recess 45 of the cap 40. After the tablet 125 is inserted, the sealing member 130 is positioned on the cap 40 to cover the recess 45. The sealing member 130 is then bonded to the cap 40, for example with the induction heating device.

The cap 40 is installed on the fitment 30, the plug portion 150 of the cap 40 being disposed within the spout tube 35 of the fitment 30. It is appreciated that the cap 40 can be installed on the fitment 30 either before or after the tablet 125 is inserted.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is therefore to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than limitation. Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings without varying from the scope and spirit of the invention described herein. 

1. A fitment assembly for use with a flexible pouch, the fitment assembly comprising: a fitment with a spout tube; a cap having a top surface and a recess; wherein the cap is attached to the fitment to seal the spout tube, and the recess is cylindrical in shape, the recess extends from the top surface and the recess is perpendicular to the top surface.
 2. The fitment assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a tablet, a sealing member, wherein the tablet is disposed within the recess, and the recess is closed by the sealing member.
 3. The fitment assembly of claim 2 wherein the sealing member is a foil seal and is attached to the fitment with an induction heating device.
 4. The fitment assembly of claim 2 wherein the sealing member is attached to the top surface of the cap.
 5. The fitment assembly of claim 1 wherein the spout tube is cylindrical in shape, and the recess and the spout tube are coaxial when the cap is installed on the fitment.
 6. The fitment assembly of claim 1 wherein the diameter of the recess is smaller than the diameter of the spout tube.
 7. A fitment assembly for use with a flexible pouch, the fitment assembly comprising: a fitment with a spout tube; a cap having a plug portion; the plug portion extending from the cap to be received by the spout tube of the fitment when the cap is attached to the fitment, the plug portion being sized to prevent product from entering the spout tube.
 8. The fitment assembly of claim 7 wherein the plug portion and the spout tube are cylindrical in shape.
 9. A method of assembling a fitment assembly comprising: providing a cap with a recess; providing a seal member; providing a tablet; depositing the tablet into the recess of the cap; and sealing the recess of the cap with the seal member.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising: providing a fitment with a spout tube; securing the cap to the fitment to close the spout tube. 